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Bulbasaur Line/RBY
Bulbasaur is available as a starter in Oak’s Lab in Red and Blue. In Yellow it's received as a gift in Cerulean City, if Pikachu's happiness is high enough. There are three answers to the question "what's the first Pokémon" - Rhydon, Arceus, Bulbasaur. Here, however, the first two are completely irrelevant, as we're gonna focus on our green critter holding the number 1 in the very first games. And critter is very relevant in this case, thanks to the first generation's crazy mechanics surrounding critical hits. If you didn't know the exact numbers, the high crit ratio moves in this generation have the crit chance calculated as the base speed divided by 64. In other words, anything with a high crit ratio move and a base speed higher than that can and will spam crits at anything that moves, as long as you don't hit that nasty 1/256 chance of any attack sans Swift missing. Like in the remakes, Bulba laughs at the early game to lose a bit of its momentum later, but Generation 1's wonky mechanics make that usefulness drop smaller. And I still haven't mentioned the Toxic+Leech Seed combination. If you like stalling and using whatever the game throws at you, you'll like the fact that Toxic and Leech Seed use the same counter, so the damage from one will influence the other. Important Matchups - Yellow = * Rival (Cerulean City): The first major battle in Yellow where you can use a Bulbasaur. Train it though. Eevee is only there to annoy you with Sand-Attack, like Pidgeotto in the previous two games. The same could be said about Sandshrew, if it wasn't weak to Vine Whip. Rattata is the same as in R/B, still with Hyper Fang. The only real problem is Spearow, who doesn't make the same mistakes as its flying cousin and actually has a STAB move. Avoid. * Gym #2 - Misty (Cerulean City, Water-type): Misty's most reasonable means of attacking you are Tackle and Bubblebeam. If you aren't too underleveled neither of those should be dangerous for you. * Rival (S.S. Anne): As opposed to the situation in the previous two games, this battle in Yellow is exactly the same as the last one, with the exception of the levels being a bit higher. If you don't neglect your training, it'll be the same - Eevee and Rattata easy, while Spearow to be avoided. What about Sandshrew? It has Slash now. With base speed of 40 the crit chance for it is 62.5%. You're bulky, but keep that in mind. * Gym #3 - Lt. Surge (Vermilion City, Electric-type): Surge's Raichu improved in Special Pikachu Edition. Four levels higher and isn't limited to Thunderbolt - it has Mega Punch and Mega Kick in its arsenal. And Ivysaur's Defense is not as good as its Special. If you have a better choice, don't risk with Ivysaur. It's possible that you might just healstall while waiting for it to miss. * Rival (Pokémon Tower): At this point, the rival's team varies according to what his Eevee will become. And depending on your Nuzlocking rules you can encounter any of the evolutions. Vaporeon if you lost in the lab (and decided that battle doesn't count) and skipped the Route 22 one, Flareon if you lost in the lab and won on Route 22 or won in the lab and skipped Route 22, Jolteon if you won both. But right now, it's still an Eevee, with exactly the same moveset. However, his lead is Fearow. It could be difficult, if its only Flying move wasn't Mirror Move. Rival, what are you doing? Regardless of that, Fearow is still strong in the physical department and your STAB resisted by it. Let someone else handle it. Sandshrew is still the same, as in weak to Grass and with 62.5% crit chance on Slash. His other three Pokémon are Magnemite, Vulpix, and Shellder. He only uses two that don't share the type with his future Eeveelution. Magnemite doesn't resist your attacks and doesn't have any good means of attacking you - stay above 20 HP though. Shellder, if it survives, might hit you with Supersonic and be generally annoying. Vulpix, like all Fire-types with a STAB move, should be avoided. * Giovanni (Rocket Hideout, Ground-type): Two out of three of his Pokémon have a double weakness to Grass, so that's that. His lead is Persian. It has has mediocre stats everywhere except for Speed, but that Speed grants it a 22.4% chance for crits on regular moves. Evolving is a good idea, but that should be obvious. Let there be bulk. * Gym #4 - Erika (Celadon City, Grass-type): You resist her Grass moves, are neutral to Acid and immune to being poisoned. Venusaur stops Erika pretty well. However, it'd be nice to attack too, wouldn't it? Offensively, your best bet would be using the Body Slam TM you got on the S.S. Anne. I hope you didn't miss it. Otherwise, if you want it done quickly, let your Fire or a Flying-type handle it. * Gym #5 - Koga (Fuchsia City, Poison-type): Avoid. All four of his bugs carry Psychic. His Venomoth is faster than you and carries Double Team (and Leech Life, your only double weakness, but honestly... Leech Life). Like with Erika, this is a place for your Fire or Flying-type. * Fighting Dojo (Saffron City, Fighting-type): Your plantasaurus absorbs Fighting moves and should have no problem with anything Normal the trainers might pack. The Karate King? The only elemental punch his Hitmonchan has is Fire Punch. Yes, it is super effective, but Hitmonchan's elemental punches are just a joke before the phys/spec split. Also, remember its good Special Defense in the later games? Nope, here his Special is 35. Your Razor Leaf should make it fold like paper. * Rival (Silph Co.): The two Pokémon that are the same in every team, Sandslash and Kadabra, are no-brainers. Kadabra is to be avoided. Sandslash got a power buff, but will still fall to your mighty Razor Crit. Also, Sandslash's base speed is just 65 (meaning if its Slash hits, it crits). Your nature-friendly colossus will outspeed a small agile rodent. Don't we all just love those little moments? Rival's Water-types, Vaporeon and Cloyster, should face the same fate. Make sure you can OHKO them, as their Aurora Beams could be nasty. Electric-types, Magneton and Jolteon... You can take on the Magneton with no particular problem. Jolteon, on the other hand, can be problematic - it will outspeed you and it's armed with Pin Missile, your double weakness. With Pin Missile's varying power and Jolteon having a 25% chance of a critical hit that skirmish would just put you on the mercy of the RNG. And remember - in generation 1, if the first hit criticals, they all will. And the enemies have infinite PP. It's too risky. I hope I don't need to say anything about the Fire-types, Flareon and Ninetales. Especially that Flareon has Fire Spin, very broken in this generation. I think I have my answer to why we don't like this generation that much. * Giovanni (Silph Co., Ground-type): Rhyhorn is still a joke for you. Persian hasn't changed at all, excluding the levels. His other two Pokémon are Nidorino and Nidoqueen, which shouldn't be too much of a problem. Body Slam the former and Razor Leaf the latter, and if you really like it, Leech Seed. * Gym #6 - Sabrina (Saffron City, Psychic-type): Don't kill your Venusaur. Keep your starter away from this place. The only Pokémon in this Gym your Venusaur should see, if you really, really want to use it, are the Gastlys and Haunters used by Channelers and Sabrina's absurdly overleveled Abra with only Teleport. Slowpokes and Slowbros used by the trainers might be weak to Razor Crit, but they tend to survive and retaliate with Psychic moves. It's better to just not send out your Venusaur in this place at all. * Gym #7 - Blaine (Cinnabar Island, Fire-type): If you send your Venusaur into battle here, not even a mighty Burn Heal can help you. It's among the world's worst ideas ever. * Gym #8 - Giovanni (Viridian City, Ground-type): Rhydon hasn't changed much. It might have Earthquake, but it won't outspeed you and survive your Razor Leaf. Persian now has a permacrit Slash, but you should tank those. Nidoking and Nidoqueen got Earthquake, unlike their Red/Blue counterparts. It's better to leave them to your Water or Psychic-type and defeat them quickly. I haven't mentioned Dugtrio, his lead, have I? Dugtrio will be an RNGfest for your Venusaur. It's faster than you. On one hand, it might use Earthquake, which you should be able to tank, even with a crit (unless your defenses are really low). On the other, it has Fissure. Remember that the OHKO moves aren't based on the level here (higher level = completely immune). Oh no, they're based on speed. Everything faster than the user is immune to them, but for everyone else - 30% chance of hitting. That's why Rhydon's Horn Drill and Fissure (the latter only in Red/Blue) weren't mentioned at all - Rhydon is so slow those moves make no sense. If you want a flawless strategy for that Dugtrio, use any Flying-type. Even a level 2 Pidgey that you happen to have in your box. Dugtrio's offensive moves are all Ground-type. If you can have fun and use such a hilarious strategy, you shouldn't risk the life of your Venusaur. * Rival (Route 22, pre-Elite Four): Sandslash hasn't changed at all, it's still allergic to Razor Crit. Kadabra is to be avoided, of course, and so are Ninetales and Flareon. The rival finally got a sixth team member, and it's... Exeggcute. Pretty much the same as in Red/Blue, its only trick is Solarbeam and you laugh at Solarbeam. You resist Magneton's Thundershock (yes, shock), but it might annoy you with status ailments. Avoid Jolteon, it's not getting rid of that Pin Missile. The Water-types, Cloyster and Vaporeon, are the same - outspeed them and make sure you either OHKO or can tank an Aurora Beam. Better to stick to the first variant. * Elite Four Lorelei (Indigo Plateau, Ice-type): Dewgong and Cloyster are the same deal as the rival's Water-types - if you outspeed and OHKO, you're fine, otherwise be prepared to take an Aurora Beam. Cloyster might be extremely allergic to nature, but Dewgong is bulkier, make sure to remember that. Lapras is even bulkier and it doesn't have Aurora Beam - it has Blizzard, which in this generation has an accuracy of 90%. If you have an Electric-type, there's no need to risk. Avoid Jynx - it's faster and its Ice Punch hurts. Her Slowbro knows Psychic, which you don't want to see striking your starter. * Elite Four Bruno (Indigo Plateau, Fighting-type): Bruno's two Onixes. That's all I have to say about those two Onixes. One has Dig, the other has Earthquake, but do you really expect them to outspeed or survive? Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan pretty much don't have Special (Defense) - they won't like your Razor Crit, Hitmonchan's elemental punches won't really do that much, you resist Hitmonlee's Fighting moves. The problem with the two Hitmons might happen if you don't OHKO them - they both carry Double Team for annoyance. Machamp should be no problem. * Elite Four Agatha (Indigo Plateau, Poison-type): She's not a Ghost user, she's a Poison user and everybody knows that. You should have a better 'mon to handle the Golbat, especially that it doubly resists your best trick. The others are a gamble. Venusaur is not compatible with Earthquake, so you can't exploit their lack of Levitate. Stalling with Leech Seed is not really worth it. Leave the job to someone who can do some serious ghostbusting. * Elite Four Lance (Indigo Plateau, Dragon-type): The only one you should attempt to beat with your Venusaur, if you really want to use your starter, is the Gyarados, the same as in Red/Blue (only one level higher). Aerodactyl has Wing Attack and Fly. You don't want to face any of those. Dragonairs are problematic - they're both level 56, so you can't distinguish them immediately. However, one of them has Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, and Slam, while the other: Wrap, Bubblebeam, and Ice Beam. 50:50 gamble, not something you should face. The Dragonite is a no. It has Blizzard and Fire Blast. Stay away from it. * Champion Rival (Indigo Plateau): Avoid Alakazam and the Fire-types, that is obvious. Stay away from Jolteon, if that's what he has. Sandslash, his lead, has Earthquake now, but you should tank it, even if you're on equal levels. Magneton hasn't changed at all. Exeggutor is still a joke, but at least it got four moves now. Vaporeon hasn't changed - OHKO it, if you don't want to see Aurora Beam. Cloyster now has Ice Beam, so you really want to Razor Crit it. * Post-Game: Let's be serious, Mewtwo against a Poison-type? Nope. Never. }} Moves Bulbasaur starts with Tackle and Growl. Keep the former around for a while, as it'll help you deal with all those funny people resistant to Grass. Speaking of Grass, you get Leech Seed at level 7. Leech Seed is the first half of one of the most broken strategies in gen1, the ToxicSeed. The 'saurs don't get a huge variety of types in their movepool, so you can afford to keep two moves that don't deal direct damage. And you should. Don't let go of Leech Seed. At level 13 you get Vine Whip, your STAB for the next seventeen levels. It's good for the early game (well, having a STAB move is always good), deals with the first two gyms, but you'll see it become lacking in the power department later, not to mention it having only 10 PP, it's ridiculous. At level 22 as an Ivysaur or 20 as a Bulbasaur you get Poison Powder, which should replace Growl. You might not find it that useful most of the time, but it's good to have some options. And then, at level 30 as Ivysaur or 27 as Bulbasaur you'll get your best move - Razor Leaf, or Razor Crit how I called it earlier for a good reason. You might be tempted to postpone the evolution to level 27, but honestly, don't do it. You'll need Ivysaur's additional bulk and it's better to get such a broken move three levels later than put your starter in the death box. Evolve your Ivysaur immediately after getting that move - while Ivy's speed is below 64, Venusaur's is not. Only the final form will have it as a permacrit. At level 43 Venusaur gets Growth, which despite the initial temptation is a waste of a slot. Crits in this generation ignore positive stat boosts as well - you won't benefit from it. If you really need to boost your Special (Defense) for some reason, just get an X Special (which will only help unless your opponents crit too. Yes, crits are omnipresent in this generation). At level 55 Venusaur gets Sleep Powder. Too late. If you really don't like using the ToxicSeed strategy, you might use SleepSeed, but at this point in the game you should already have your clear strategy realized. The last level-up move you'll get is Solar Beam at level 65. It's pointless. You take two turns to deal base 120 damage while you can use Razor Leaf twice, each time for 55 base damage with a critical hit on top of that. Not to mention leaving yourself vulnerable for a turn. Don't. Embrace the crits. TM compatibility in this generation is everything but impressive. Only two TMs should really be considered - Body Slam and Toxic. The former to replace Tackle and serve as your secondary weapon against things resistant to Grass, while the latter to abuse the ToxicSeed effect. Almost all other TMs are just a "fun" trivia. Why take recoil from Take Down and Double-Edge if you can use Body Slam and maybe get paralysis? Why use Hyper Beam if Body Slam used twice works better? Why use Mega Drain when Razor Leaf is way better (and a defeated opponent can't hurt you)? Why use Solar Beam if Razor Leaf does a better job? Venusaur doesn't have many tricks, but it doesn't need them. You don't need any other TMs than the two with the names in bold. but if you're really curious, the ones not mentioned are: Swords Dance, Rage, Mimic, Double Team, Reflect, Bide, Rest, Substitute, and HM01 Cut. May Arceus have you in xir protection if you're forced to teach your Bulba' Cut. Recommended moveset: Razor Leaf, Body Slam, Leech Seed, Toxic / Sleep Powder Other Bulbasaur's stats Ivysaur's stats Venusaur's stats * At what point in the game should I be evolved? To Ivysaur in Cerulean, to help you handle the local bosses. To Venusaur as soon as you get Razor Leaf - presumably around Celadon, to maintain a safe level advantage. The moves obtained after Razor Leaf are not worth it - get a Venusaur immediately, get your 80 base speed and spread terror. * How good is the Bulbasaur line in a Nuzlocke? Bulba is here to tank hits. It might have fairly common weaknesses, but against anything that can't exploit them? If it doesn't resist Grass, Razor Leaf and let the crits rain. If it does - Leech Seed with Toxic. Or, if you don't feel like abusing the wonky game mechanics, either of those. Maybe it got less impressive in the later games, but Bulba's status as the easy mode came from somewhere. * Weaknesses: Fire, Flying, Psychic, Ice, Bug (x4) * Resistances: Water, Electric, Fighting, Grass (x0.25) * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Poison, Normal, Rock, Ground, Ghost, Dragon Category:Red/Blue/Yellow Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses